Texas will put warning labels on some foods, but its additives list has
inaccuracies
[June 25, 2025]
By JONEL ALECCIA and JAMIE STENGLE
DALLAS (AP) — A new Texas law promoting the Trump administration's “Make
America Healthy Again” agenda requires first-ever warning labels on
foods like chips and candies that contain dyes and additives not allowed
in other countries.
It could have far-reaching effects on the nation's food supply, but a
review of the legislation shows it also misrepresents the status of some
ingredients that would trigger the action.
The law signed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday requires foods
made with any of more than 40 dyes or additives to have labels starting
in 2027 saying they contain ingredients “not recommended for human
consumption” in Australia, Canada, the European Union or the U.K. But a
review shows that nearly a dozen of the targeted additives are either
authorized in the cited regions — or already restricted in the U.S.
The law, which will send the food industry scrambling to respond, is
laudable in its intent, but could lead to incorrect citations and
potential legal challenges, a consumer advocacy group said.
“I don’t know how the list of chemicals was constructed,” said Thomas
Galligan, a scientist with the Center for Science in the Public
Interest. “Warnings have to be accurate in order to be legal.”
The law, approved with wide bipartisan support, is part of a flurry of
similar legislation this year by GOP-led statehouses as lawmakers align
themselves with U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s “Make
America Healthy Again” agenda. Texas would be the first in the U.S. to
use warning labels to target additives, rather than nutrients like sugar
or saturated fat, to change American diets.
It will force food companies to decide whether to reformulate products
to avoid the labels, add the newly required language, pull certain
products from Texas shelves or oppose the measure in court.
It's unclear how the list of additives was created. Inquiries to the
office of the bill's author, Republican state Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, were
not immediately returned.
Some of the targeted ingredients are allowed in all the named regions
Regulators in Australia, Canada, the EU and the U.K. take a cautious
approach to food additives: If a product's safety is uncertain, it can
be banned or restricted until it is determined to be safe. By contrast,
the U.S. generally allows products on the market unless there is clear
risk of harm.
Three additives targeted by Texas — partially hydrogenated oils, Red Dye
No. 4 and Red Dye No. 3 — are not approved or have been banned in food
by U.S. regulators.
Several of the other listed ingredients are allowed in all four of those
regions, noted Galligan and representatives from the Consumer Brands
Association, a food industry trade group.
Examples of those include: Blue Dye No. 1; Blue Dye No. 2; butylated
hydroxyanisole, or BHA; butylated hydroxytoluene, or BHT; diacetyl;
interesterified soybean oil; lactylated fatty acid esters of glycerol
and propylene glycol; and potassium aluminum sulfate.
In addition, the legislation contains regulatory loopholes that could
prevent certain ingredients from being labeled at all, said Melanie
Benesh, an analyst with the Environmental Working Group, an activist
organization that focuses on toxic chemicals.
For example, the food additive azodicarbonamide, known as ADA and used
as a bleaching agent in cereal flours, is included on the Texas list.
But under the Federal Code of Regulations, it may safely be used in food
under certain conditions. That federal regulation likely exempts ADA
from the state labeling law, Benesh said.
“The law, as passed, may not end up having the impact that legislators
intended,” Benesh said.
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A woman looks at products in the aisle of a store as her daughter
naps in the shopping cart in Waco, Texas, on Dec. 14, 2010. (AP
Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
 Nutrition experts welcome a look
at food additives
Nutrition experts have long worried about the potential health
effects of food additives, even as it remains unclear how much of a
role processed foods have in driving chronic health disease.
Research has shown that requiring food label warnings can help steer
consumers toward healthier choices and prompt industry to remove
concerning ingredients. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has
proposed front-of-package labels that would flag levels of saturated
fat, sugar and sodium.
“This represents a big win for Texas consumers and consumers
overall,” said Brian Ronholm, director of food policy for Consumer
Reports. “It’s a reflection of states not wanting to wait for the
federal government to act.”
The law also creates a state nutrition advisory committee, boosts
physical education and nutrition curriculum requirements in public
and charter schools, and requires nutrition courses for college
students and medical professionals doing continuing education.
States take on additives
Several states have been taking action to restrict dyes and
additives in foods.
In 2023, California became the first state to ban some chemicals and
dyes used in candies, drinks and other foods because of health
concerns. The state expanded on that last year by barring several
additional dyes from food served in public schools.
Other laws passed this year include one in Arkansas banning two
particular additives from food sold or manufactured in the state and
a West Virginia law includes a statewide ban on seven dyes.
Lawmakers in several states have passed measures this year banning
certain additives from food served or sold at public schools,
according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill-tracking
software Plural. That includes Texas, where the governor last month
signed a bill banning foods with certain ingredients from being
served in school lunches.
“It’s a pretty dizzying time to be watching what’s happening,
because usually policies that are not very industry friendly are
opposed, particularly in red states," said Christina Roberto,
director of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for Food and
Nutrition Policy, “With RFK and the MAHA movement, it’s really
turned things upside-down in some ways.”
At the federal level, Kennedy and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary have
pledged to remove artificial dyes from foods and have pressured
industry to take voluntary action. Some large food manufacturers
have complied.
Health advocates have long called for the removal of artificial dyes
from foods, citing mixed studies indicating they can cause
neurobehavioral problems, including hyperactivity and attention
issues, in some children.
The FDA previously has said that the approved dyes are safe and that
“the totality of scientific evidence shows that most children have
no adverse effects when consuming foods containing color additives.”
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Aleccia contributed to this report from Temecula, Calif. Associated
Press writer David A. Lieb reported from Jefferson City, Mo.
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